LiveWell Longmont seeks input on how to encourage healthy living

Lorraine Ward lifts weights during an exercise class Saturday at Longmont United Hospital. With the help of LiveWell Longmont, the hospital employee has lost and kept off 50 pounds.
(
LEWIS GEYER
)

LONGMONT -- When Lorraine Ward stepped off the plane in Omaha last year, her son said: "Wow, Plumpy. Hard body!"

Her kids affectionately nicknamed her Plumpy, a moniker she hoped to shed right along with the 50 pounds she vowed to lose after her 50th birthday in 2010.

Ward, 52, had dropped three dress sizes by the time she visited her son in Nebraska.

But to keep her weight from creeping up in 2011 during the holidays, the Longmont United Hospital staffing coordinator participated in LiveWell Longmont's free "Maintain, Don't Gain" workplace wellness program.

To build on the success of that campaign -- about 75 percent of more than 100 four-member teams in the community stayed within 1 percent of their baseline weight from November through December -- LiveWell Longmont will host three healthy eating and active living community dialogues in March.

By listening to those who live, learn, work and play in and around the city, LiveWell Longmont staff hope to fine-tune future programming around three topics, said Melissa Trecoske Houghton, LiveWell Longmont's manager.

To register: Visit the LiveWell Longmont events page or email Melissa Houghton with your name and the session you plan to attend. If you plan to attend March 22, include number of children who will use the free child care offered; or call 720-652-4721 and leave your name, session attending and number of children attending if you plan on using the free child care offered at the March 22 session.

Those topics: What type of health information is most useful? What are the best ways to access that information? What are the barriers to eating healthy and living more actively here?

"What we have found is that there is plenty of health information out there. We want to learn what works best for this community," Houghton said.

LiveWell Longmont will share healthy snacks, healthy eating information, translation services and a "thank you" gift to all participants. The third session, hosted by the Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA on March 22, will also provide free child care.

LiveWell Longmont launched in 2007 with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and LiveWell Colorado to customize community initiatives that support healthy eating and active living.

Ward said LiveWell Longmont's holiday weight maintenance program helped her manage overeating by sending weekly emails with food and fitness tips and by encouraging employees at partnering organizations such as LUH, the city of Longmont and the St. Vrain Valley School District to join weight maintenance accountability teams.

The majority of those team members gained little to no weight, and some even managed to lose weight, a collective 433 pounds, Trecoske Houghton said.

Making it through the holidays without packing on extra pounds gave her momentum for healthy living in 2012, Ward said.

"My kids and their friends will always call me Plumpy," she said, smiling. "But (LiveWell Longmont) kept me on track, especially with my eating habits, with being more mindful of what goes into my mouth."

Fitness instructor Lori Legault, left, leads an exercise class at Longmont United Hospital. LiveWell Longmont is hosting discussions on how the organization can help Longmont residents be healthier.
(
LEWIS GEYER
)

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